Anand Wins Best Game AND Best Novelty! - Anand vs. Bologan, 2003

Winning a brilliancy prize is a rare and special thing. At one time, brilliancy prizes were standard at top chess tournaments. These days, they are quite rare, probably because some top players (*cough* Kasparov *cough*) took it a little too personally when the voting did not go their way 😛

For decades, the most esteemed brilliancy prize in chess has been the Informant best game prize. The Serbian publication releases four volumes a year, and in each issue, a best game prize and a best novelty are declared from among the games published in the previous issue. The voting staff includes an elite cadre of grandmasters, and winning the prize is a tremendous honor.

Viswanathan Anand's 2003 victory over Viorel Bologan is one of the rare games that won both prizes. Off the top of my head, I can only recall Kasparov's World Championship victory (coincidentally over Anand) also collecting dual honors, but there MUST be other games that were recipients of both prizes. If you know some, post them in the comments.

Without additional delay, here is Anand's brilliant game.

I've annotated this game below. Of course, these annotations cannot compare with Anand's own. You can (and really, really should) find those in "Vishy Anand's: Life and Games."

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Want more of Viswanathan Anand's games? Check out my previous videos.

• Attacking The Weak Back Rank! - Radjabov vs. Anand, 2002
• Anand's Defensive Brilliancy! - Kramnik vs. Anand, 1997
• Anand's Most Spectacular Move? - Anand vs. Lautier, 1997
• Anand's Incredible Exchange Sac - Anand vs. Ivanchuk, 1996
• Anand's Sacrificial Miniature - Anand vs. Gelfand, 1996
• Anand Defeats Kasparov in the World Championship - Anand vs. Kasparov, 1995
• Anand Crushes The Sicilian - Anand vs. Sokolov, 1992
• Anand's Positional Chess Masterpiece? Ivanchuk vs. Anand, 1992